Comments for The Fifth Defiancehttps://thefifthdefiance.com
Rise , though you rise against the heavens...Fri, 18 Jan 2019 00:34:32 +0000hourly1Comment on Condemner 8:2 by Walterhttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/17/condemner-82/comment-page-1/#comment-3860
Fri, 18 Jan 2019 00:34:32 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5149#comment-3860Condemner is talking to himself, ‘welcome to the party’ sort of a vibe. He believes a Ruling Council member has sent forth Zilla’s people, and most likely leads them to the battle.
]]>Comment on Condemner 8:2 by Cryptonomiconhttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/17/condemner-82/comment-page-1/#comment-3859
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 23:43:05 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5149#comment-3859> “Welcome to the war front, Mr. Ruling Council Member.”

I don’t understand… Who is talking here? Who is the Mr. Ruling Council Member? AFAIK, apart from Zeus and Odin the ruling council has no men, only women. Even if you count Preventer as being a member after killing Death.

I Predictor a member of the Rulinh council in disguise? Is Andy?!

]]>Comment on Regime Quest: 3 by Skivverushttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/14/regime-quest-3/comment-page-1/#comment-3858
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 03:40:30 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5144#comment-385818 – 1WP for Picker. Makes for a bit of potential drama with KEM, and Picker sounds sympathetic enough that it’d make sense for the audience (not just Mia) to like her.
19 – Vote goes for Masher, but no strong preference.
20 – 3WP I like Cell Leader, but that’s tough on the WP. Fellow Traveler makes sense. Still, total WP usage after accounting for other questions allows it. So, cell leader it is.
21 – Ultra Strength 1: having something that can bypass Ultra Toughness means there are a lot more Ultras she can potentially take down; that said, having Ultra Toughness does admittedly align better with having plot armor.
22, 23 – none are coming to mind at the moment, though ‘compassion (especially for daggers)’ could count as either a virtue or a flaw.
9 – Still thinking Ar Harbor.
16 – Sounds about right; for A, scattered survivors.
17 – 1WP for education; Mia’s older than she looks thanks to her gift, and with a little memory and/or suggestibility trading with the witnesses, she’s confused the tales of her origin enough that not everyone realizes she predates the Regime.
]]>Comment on Regime Quest: 3 by Karthohttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/14/regime-quest-3/comment-page-1/#comment-3857
Mon, 14 Jan 2019 23:19:43 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5144#comment-3857Hey hey hey. I’m liking this idea, but I’m going to go ahead and plug the Sufficient Velocity thread. It’s designed specifically for user interactive quests, and we probably want to consolidate the participating viewership. https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/regime-quest.52449/page-2

See y’all over there.

]]>Comment on Condemner 8:1 by Walterhttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/14/condemner-81/comment-page-1/#comment-3856
Mon, 14 Jan 2019 13:02:36 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5141#comment-3856He thinks Preventer’s invincibility makes Zilla trying to kill 4th first futile.
]]>Comment on Regime Quest: 3 by Walterhttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/14/regime-quest-3/comment-page-1/#comment-3855
Mon, 14 Jan 2019 13:00:48 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5144#comment-385517, I missed the fact that she’s an old worlder I’ll fix that when I get home tonight.

9. This is a prequel, clearly ya’ll are the ones to push them back!
Real answer, the regime tends to just take towns and cities, then change the map, even if that leaves other cities they’ve gone past in ‘their’ territory.

]]>Comment on Regime Quest: 3 by quaelegithttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/14/regime-quest-3/comment-page-1/#comment-3854
Mon, 14 Jan 2019 09:28:43 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5144#comment-3854I’ve been avoiding answering these because I find them too difficult, but I just want to say that I love Shower’s gift and I hope he shows up in the story one way or another!! Also his name cracks me up — I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be show-er, but I can’t get the image of the bathroom appliance out of my head.

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(Also if its okay, some questions about the quesitons:

17 — if Blender grew up before the world fell she would have gone to school or been homeschooled up to state standards. Maybe she was a terrible student or something, I guess. Or by “independent town” are you saying she came from one of those anti-government survivalist groups like in the book Educated?

9– how is Lington a squabble between the Union and the Pantheon? I thought the Pantheon’s influece didn’t extended further north than Redo?)

]]>Comment on Condemner 8:1 by quaelegithttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/14/condemner-81/comment-page-1/#comment-3853
Mon, 14 Jan 2019 09:11:37 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5141#comment-3853Hmm, if we interpret Ox’s description as omniscience akin to Adder or Prevailer, this could also hint at Zilla being older than the fall.

Also why does Condemner think Zilla would want to kill the 5th fist rather than the 4th? This might be brought up in proceeding chapters, will re-read when I’m less tired…

So fists can *change* membership. I’m pretty sure this is the first we as readers have heard of this too? I mean it makes sense that Snitcher could break and reform the fist link, but I’m suprised no one seems to know of it?

Oh, wait, there’s this from the chapter “5th Fist”:

The Fifth Fist’s history is difficult to discover. There are signs that it is as old as the Second, though that would make little sense. Predictor practices a thorough counter intel discipline, and any information that leaks out must be met with a determined scrutiny, as it may well have been deliberately leaked.

So I guess we just learned a bit of what they are hiding. Still leaves a puzzle about the numbering.

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I really like Dusk’s gift — what a neat Stranger power! (sorry)

And I’m so intrigued by the hints at Zilla’s gift (there’s obviously more to it than just shapeshifting)! I’m also really surprised by this request about crushing the fort, but I’ll think more on it when I can go re-read the last handful of chapters all at once.

]]>Comment on Regime Quest : 2 by Talon Of Anathraxhttps://thefifthdefiance.com/2019/01/07/regime-quest-2/comment-page-1/#comment-3851
Sat, 12 Jan 2019 08:46:20 +0000https://thefifthdefiance.com/?p=5133#comment-3851[X] Moniker: GM fiat
[X] Real Name: Mia
[X] woman
[X] (2WP) Back before the old world fell
[X] Force. Someone was recruiting, and I was a warm body
[X] Another ability, comparatively minor (write-in)
-[X] The ability to restore and repair something’s form in a few moments, through touch. Can affect herself.
[X] (5UP & 1WP) Another ability, of exceptional reach and breadth (write-in)
-[X] The ability to take aspects of something’s form and to give someone aspects of yours. Make someone older and become younger, make someone tall and become short, make yourself tough and stiff but make a wall weak, make yourself light but make paper heavy, ect. Does not require concentration, but a limited number of effects can be maintained on one person at one time. Effects cannot be dismissed, but it is possible to “get rid of them” by giving them to an enemy and leaving them there forever. Range is short, but it works fast.
[X] (1WP) I am on the side of Kill Every Monster, striving to eradicate my own kind, so that humans may once again rule their own destinies
[X] Subtracter
[X] Physical Description: A short, unassuming woman. In fairly good shape. Wears “heavy” armour, and carries a large hiking backpack. Clothes and gear in good state. Sigil: An Old World graduation cap.
[X] Demeanor: Hates Ultras (including sometimes herself, though she blames any immoral actions on necessity and her nature as an Ultra), but doesn’t actively seek her own death (has some caution, fears it). Polite and even kind to non-Ultras. Social person (with non-Ultras) who likes company and cares about how she is perceived by others.
[X] (1WP) Wilderness Dweller: I lived in a town with no Company Facility or Ultras. We survived on our own, without protein powder or Ultra gifts. I know how it was done, and I could do it again.
[X] Worked as a Troubleshooter, roaming the land and enforcing the Regime’s norms. Traveling between cities holds no surprises for me, and I know many of the Ultras of consquence outside Shington.
[X] (1WP) The humans, they are the ocean in which my kind swim. Their view of me is most important.
[X] (1WP) A lot more than ten. I took the red path to the heights.
[X] A moderate amount, what was necessary to gain my position. Everyone has a good idea of how my gifts work, and my name opens many doors.

———-
I love the idea of playing an Ultra who roots for Kill Every Monster (the contradiction is marvellous and depressing!), and an Old Worlder.

I gave her a power that’s a little tricky to manage if she doesn’t consider every non-Ultra to be an acceptable target: note that while she can take aspects of something’s form, she can only give them to people (not things) and only after having adopted them for a moment herself. So if she wanted to petrify an enemy (make his limbs as stiff as stone) she would have to be petrified herself for a moment. And if she made herself as light as paper to move around more easily (gliding, maybe?) then she would have to stay that way until she could find an acceptable target to pass the effect onto.
Oh, and her power can heal physical harm (which explains her survival for so long and can be useful for rapport with non-Ultras) but cannot directly inflict it.

In fights, I presume that she would rely on enhanced clothing (armour made light, for example), and that she would carry around things whose form has useful qualities so that she could adopt them quickly and if needed give them to allies (if useful) or enemies.